Of Home and Dragons
by queen-sheep
Summary: Charlie loves dragons. It is a fact as undeniable as the rising sun. -ONESHOT


_Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition - Round 5. Prompts used: "I'm up to my eyes!", Ridiculous_

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It had all started when he was eight, and fed up with his hand-me-down toys and with playing by himself. His parents had been gone for the day, out shopping in Diagon Alley, and had decided that Bill was plenty old and mature enough to watch him and Percy for a couple of hours. But Bill had made the mistake of taking his eyes off a bored and energetic child and Charlie had promptly wandered off on his own.

He had gone up to the attic, a dusty and lonely room, and began exploring. He wasn't supposed to be there, but he was so _bored _and it was the only place in the entire house that he'd never been in before. There wasn't even that much there anyway, just an old bed and a dirty cabinet. As he walked back over to the door, severely disappointed, he tripped over an object on the ground. Charlie frowned, peering curiously downwards. It was an ancient, wrinkled book, simply titled _Dragons_, and Charlie had curiously opened it up.

It was love at first sight.

He spent the rest of the day leafing through the book, eyes wide with fascination at the pictures and descriptions of the various species of dragons. He was oblivious to the chaos below him as Bill came back from the kitchen with Percy to find him gone. He didn't notice when his parents came home to find him missing. It was only the loud footsteps and shouting that alerted him that something was wrong, and he pocketed the book and retreated back outside.

Immediately, his mum had rounded on him, face set in a furious frown. Charlie didn't even mind having to endure her angry tirade and shouts of _"Where have you been"_ because he had something he was interested in, and wanted to get back to the book in the privacy of his own room. He quickly accepted his punishment with no arguments and went off.

The very next day at breakfast, he bombarded his parent with questions about dragons. It was a never ending stream of words, nobody in the household being able to get a word in otherwise. It was only when his dad sheepishly admitted he knew little about dragons, and that it wasn't covered very much in the Hogwarts curriculum, that his excited questionnaire stopped.

"What?" He exclaimed. "That's ridiculous!"

"That's just the way it is." His father shrugged slightly. "Although, I'm sure you'll learn about them in more advanced Care of Magical Creature classes, and you can always learn about them in books."

It was then that Charlie knew one course he absolutely was going to take in Hogwarts. With a slight nod, he dropped the topic and the conversation turned to other things.

As time passed, Charlie waited and waited impatiently for his turn to go to Hogwarts. First it was Bill. He came back that winter with eyes shining and regaled him and Percy with tales of Hogwarts that boosted his excitement even more. _One more year_, he told himself, _just one more year. _

Then one summer _it was finally happening. _He was going to Hogwarts, and even if he couldn't study dragons until his later years, he could still research them and learn about them in the school library. He would fill himself up with the knowledge he had been thirsting for all this time.

And that was exactly what he did. Upon entering Hogwarts, he worked diligently in Care of Magical Creatures, spending some of his free time at the library. Charlie lost some focus on the other subjects, but he still scraped by and that was enough for him. As it turned out, Care of Magical Creatures was his favourite subject even without the dragons. He was also a Quidditch player, and he loved the feel of the wind rushing by him, but it wasn't, and wouldn't ever amount the amount of love and fascination he felt for the majestic dragon.

He was in his fifth year when he decided he wanted to become a dragon keeper.

When his parents found out, they were appalled. Or rather, his mum was, while his dad gave him an encouraging smile and a shrug.

"This is a terrible idea!" His mum stormed. "A dragon keeper! That's absurd! Do you know how dangerous a position that is? A job that that requires years of training as well!"

"Now, now Molly, I'm sure Charlie knows what he's doing," his dad said, trying to appease his mum.

"But Arthur!"

Charlie though, wouldn't budge on the matter. He was going to become a dragon keeper with or without their agreement.

On the day he was leaving to Romania for the start of his training, his mum met him at the door. She glanced worriedly at him, causing a jerk of guilt to appear in his gut, but he wouldn't change his decision. She gave him one last hug, which Charlie gladly returned. She smelled of good food and the slight tinge of smoke that always seemed to linger in the Burrow since the twins had come into existence. She smelled like home.

"I'll miss you," she sighed.

"I'll miss you too mum," Charlie replied, hugging her tighter. "And everyone else too. Tell them I'll be thinking of them."

"I will."

Those first few months were the loneliest he'd ever been in his life, despite the frequent letters he exchanged with his family. In his darkest moments, he contemplated taking up Quidditch as a job, just to be closer to home. Charlie would soon dismiss those thoughts. He was doing what he had longed for his whole life. He was surrounded by dragons, and could study them up close to his heart's content.

It took him a while before he realized that his family was with him even in Romania. Ironically enough, he could see them right in the dragons he was immersed in. He had left home just to be surrounded by it once again.

There was Ginny in the Chinese Fireball. A spitfire, pure scarlet like her hair, and wouldn't take anything from anyone. Hard to tame. And their females were generally larger than males. Just like how little eight year old Ginny was tough and fierce, able to stand on her own two feet.

And then there was Ron in the Swedish Short-Snout. It was a dragon that was more unknown in light of other species. Yet although it didn't get much attention, it was still deadly and powerful. Charlie had watched as closely as he could over the year, and had observed Ron. He had five older brothers and was always overshadowed by them. It was Charlie's sincere hope that someone he would find someone who would _know_, who would appreciate him.

Fred was found in the Hungarian Horntail, and George in the Norwegian Ridgeback. Some of the most vicious dragons, much like the twins penchant for mischievousness. The two breeds looked similar, but the Norwegian Ridgeback was slightly less hostile than the other. Charlie knew the twins would never admit it, but Fred was always the more outgoing, the slightly louder of the two.

Percy was in the Common Welsh Green. It was a more subdued breed of dragon, preferring to feed on sheep and small mammals to avoid human contact. If that didn't describe his brother, then he didn't know what did. It was so like the studious and serious Percy to keep away from everyone else. He had seen it happen over the years while he was at Hogwarts, and hadn't been able to do anything to break him out of that shell.

He saw Bill in the Ukrainian Ironbelly. Big, tough, fierce. A protector. Just like the way every one of his siblings looked up to him, and he in turn tried to keep them from harm as best as he could.

And finally, he could see himself in the Romanian Longhorn. The dragon native to Romania. It was bulky, content to live its life as it would. He thought that described him pretty well.

"Hey, Charlie!" A voice broke his reverie. "Daydreaming again?"

"Can't you see I'm up to my eyes in work?" He shouted back, grinning at a fellow dragon keeper.

"Sure, sure, you keep believing that."

With a short chuckle, he got back to his notebook. With a pensive smile lingering on his face, he glanced up again to look at his surroundings. At home, he was surrounded by his family, his siblings, warmth and love. Yet while apart, the seven different breeds of dragons in the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, and his friends, made it his home away from home.

And there was nothing in the world he wanted more.


End file.
